(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to footwear to be worn on a human foot, and, more particularly the present invention relates to a improved moccasin construction.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional moccasin includes a leather moccasin body for receiving a human foot and an outer sole attached, by stitching or an adhesive or both, to the bottom of the moccasin body. In the manufacture of the moccasin, the leather is cut in a pattern that will eventually form the moccasin body and a vamp is stitched in place to assemble the front part of the moccasin, and the heel portions of the moccasin body are stitched together to form a heel cup. In order to provide a moccasin that can have an outer sole attached thereto, the heel portion of the moccasin body is designed to be substantially flat. In order to produce a flat heel portion, the assembled moccasin body is placed on a conventional last, that is, a block or form shaped like a human foot and used by shoemakers for making moccasins. The last has a generally flat bottom with sides extending generally perpindicularly upwardly from bottom of the last. The curve of the last in the heel portion thereof typically has a small radius. When the leather which forms the sole of the moccasin body is drawn around the heel of the last, the leather tends to bunch, wrinkle and provides a generally discontinuous surface, which surface in its irregular form is not comfortable for a human heel to rest upon. This bunching of the leather in the region of the heel is undesirable for several reasons. Firstly, the process of gathering the leather around the last heel is time consuming and must be done almost entirely by hand. Furthermore, the bunched heel portion of the sole provides a discontinuous and uneven surface upon which a persons heel is to rest. Thus, the bunched leather is often ground down by a grinding device to provide a smooth surface to which the outer sole is attached. Further, the bunching of the leather in the region of the heel is unsightly when viewed from above the shoe and an inner sole must be used to cover the unsightly heel region. The use of an inner sole results in the use of additional leather and further results in the manufacturing process consuming more time because an additional step is necessary to secure the inner sole.